In many localities, particularly urban localities, the public deposits mail in a large metal container called a mailbox which is left unattended outdoors on land adjacent streets and byways. A mail carrier who has a key to this mailbox opens it, picks up letters which have been deposited in the mailbox and transports them to a central location. This container usually has a large pivotally mounted door through which mail is put in the mailbox, a rounded top portion and legs which are secured to the ground on substantially flat feet.
Currently the typical outdoor mailbox has four legs each having a foot at its bottom end which is substantially flat. The mailbox is held in place by metal, usually iron or steel, angle pieces which, after being driven in the appropriate place in the ground, are bolted to the feet of the mailbox. These stakes which may be about 2 feet long and about 1 inch by 1 inch are driven in the ground prior to securing the mailbox. They may be 1/8 inch thick and have a sharp point for insertion in the ground.
There are disadvantages to this method of securing a mailbox to the ground. Simply driving four metal stakes in the ground does not provide a secure attachment of the mailbox. An individual or group of individuals who want to vandalize the mailbox or steal its contents can exert an upward force on the mailbox which varies according to the climatic conditions and the type of ground and pull the angle pieces securing the mailbox from the ground. When the mailbox is removed in this way sometimes the individuals removing it are injured by the pointed angle pieces which may be propelled in various directions when the mailbox is pulled from its location. That might also occur if the mailbox is struck by a motor vehicle involved in an accident on the road adjacent the mailbox.
It is an object of my invention to provide an improved anchoring member for a container located out-of-doors, especially for an outdoor mailbox, which provides a more secure attachment of the container to the ground than current attachment means.
It is also an object of my invention to provide an improved anchoring member for a container located out-of-doors, especially for an outdoor mailbox, which provides a safer attachment of the mailbox to the ground than currently so that individuals attempting to remove the mailbox are not inadvertently injured by the attachment means.
It is another object of my invention to provide an improved anchoring member for an outdoor mailbox which secures the outdoor mailbox to the ground which can not be drawn from the ground or can be drawn from the ground only by applying an upward force on either the mailbox or itself which is much greater than is required to withdraw the current anchoring member.
It is an additional object of my invention to provide an improved method of anchoring an outdoor mailbox which provides a more secure attachment of the container to the ground than the current method.